PRESS RELEASE

Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation Kicks Off #MyCampAED Scavenger Hunt in Celebration of National CPR and AED Awareness Week.

Tenafly, NJ — June 2, 2014 — The Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) in partnership with the American Camp Association (ACA) and One Beat CPR + AED, celebrates National CPR and AED Awareness Week (June 1-7) with a summer-long scavenger hunt to find automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at camps across the nation. This national initiative will call attention to the importance of quickly locating an AED during a cardiac emergency.

This is the second year CCF is sponsoring the scavenger hunt to increase awareness of AEDs and its accessibility. To participate, campers search for their AED, take a photo with themselves and the AED and then post the photo with the hashtag #mycampAED, including the camp name, state and AED location, on social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The CCF scavenger hunt not only stresses the importance of having an AED at camp, but the need for everyone at camp to know its exact location and know what to do in a cardiac emergency. CCF Founder Lisa Yue understands the importance of emergency preparedness and early defibrillation, as she lost two young sons to cardiomyopathy, a heart disease that is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrest in youth. Many times children with cardiomyopathy do not have obvious symptoms and remain undiagnosed, putting them at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

"Unfortunately, so many young lives are lost each year to SCA due to lack of an emergency plan and training," says Lisa Yue, president and founder of CCF. "According to the American Heart Association, only six percent of children who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive. By encouraging campers and staff around the country to locate their AEDs and understand how to use it, we could improve the overall response rate and more lives could be saved.

"ACA is committed to helping camps provide a safe environment for campers and helping campers learn valuable life lessons," says Peg Smith, ACA's chief executive officer. "This AED initiative teaches campers what an AED looks like and how it can help save a life — a powerful tool to learn at camp and use the rest of their lives."

As part of this initiative, CCF also is encouraging families to write to their representatives to support the Cardiomyopathy HEARTS Act. U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and Representative Frank Pallone reintroduced the Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Risk Assessment and Training in the Schools (HEARTS) Act (H.R. 565/S. 254) earlier this year, which increases awareness of pediatric cardiomyopathy and the risk of sudden cardiac arrest among parents, schools and health professionals. CCF continues to work in partnership with Congressman Pallone and Senator Menendez to move this legislation forward.

To join CCF's efforts in getting the Cardiomyopathy HEARTS bill passed, go to CCF's website at childrenscardiomyopathy.org and click the "Take Action Today" link to send a personalized email to your members of congress. To join the scavenger hunt, locate an AED at a camp near you and post to Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation's Facebook and Twitter page @CCFheartkids with the hashtag #mycampAED, camp name, AED location and state.

About the Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation

The Children’s Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF) is a national non-profit dedicated to finding causes and cures for pediatric cardiomyopathy. CCF started in 2002 with one family’s determination to call attention to this poorly understood heart disease and to take action on the lack of medical progress and public awareness. Since then, CCF has raised more than $8 million for research and education initiatives, and grown into a global community of families, physicians and scientists focused on improving diagnosis, treatment and quality of life for children with cardiomyopathy.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Hivry: 866-808-2873x903; jhivry@childrenscardiomyopathy.org